New Year honour for former Principal of Lambeth College.

[Maria Duffy]

 

Richard Chambers, former Principal of Lambeth College, has been awarded an OBE in the New Year honours list for his services to Further Education. Richard retired from Lambeth College in October 2011 after six years as Principal.   

 

Richard was an educationalist for over 30 years and a well-respected leading national figure in Further Education (FE) as a member of the prestigious 157 Group and the Association of Colleges.  He was an early pioneer of education-business links and promoting skills for employment, and continues to be a Trustee of Careers Academies UK which is the leading national organisation in this area.  He was an active member of the Lambeth First Local Strategic Partnership, forging connections between the College, the local authority and local employers.

 

Richard’s lifelong commitment to inclusiveness and equality was recognised in 2009 when he received an award from the National Network for Black Professionals for Leadership in Race Equality in 2009 for his career achievements in this area. 

 

Richard is an FE success story. For various personal reasons, he did not achieve well in compulsory education but then he took the FE route to gaining qualifications in his late 20s, culminating in a Master of Science in Education Management. He became a leading figure in FE, bringing Lewisham College to Beacon Status in the 1990s as Deputy Principal and doubling the intake at St George Monoux 6^th Form (Walthamstow) in his role as Principal.

 

His career at Lambeth College, which he joined in 2005, has been marked by success, and in 2008 Ofsted graded the College outstanding in leadership and management. 

 

Lambeth College’s Chair of Governors Dame Lorna Boreland-Kelly praised Richard’s achievements, “Everyone at Lambeth College is enormously proud of Richard. He was a much respected Principal who left us with a legacy of equality and inclusiveness. His personal experience of FE led him to become a lifelong champion of education and a pioneer of linking education to business. His OBE is very much deserved.”

 

Richard plans to spend his retirement improving his gardening skills and enjoying more time with his family.  He will be succeeded as Principal at Lambeth College by Mark Silverman who is due to take up his new post in the spring.